Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 23:17:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Laurie McBride <laurie.mcbride@lifelobby.org>
Subject: LIFE Lobby Closes  


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 1998


Contact:  
Ken Collins, 562 621 6777
Brian Cheu, 415 703 6150 x19


LIFE Lobby to Close Its Doors After 12 Years
As the Voice of the LBGT and HIV/AIDS Communities

SACRAMENTO, MAY 2, 1998.  Today, after 12 years as the voice of California's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and HIV/AIDS communities, the LIFE Lobby Board of Directors voted to close the doors.  This action will not affect the LIFE Institute, which continues to operate as an educational 501-c-3 agency.  The Institute does not lobby.

Laurie McBride, Executive Director, and Ken Collins, Board Co-Chair of the Lobby made this announcement after much debate and consultation with the House of Delegates which make up this 100 member organization.
"I would like to thank my staff of dedicated and loyal professionals: Ellen McCormick, Civil Rights Lobbyist; Eric Astacaan, HIV/AIDS Lobbyist; Rodney Scott, Development Consultant; and Sam Catalano, Operations Manager.  They fought tirelessly for the rights of the LBGT and HIV/AIDS communities," said Laurie McBride, Executive Director.  "The ending of LIFE Lobby is due to the on-going inability to properly fund and raise money to carry on this important work," she added.

"The Board of Directors would like to thank and recognize the House of Delegates and member organizations who have been the heart and soul of this organization for 12 years," said Ken Collins, Board Co-Chair.  "Without our members' activism, courage, and lobbying, our lives would not be as they are today."

"Homophobic, transphobic, and AIDSphobic legislation must be stopped, and it is our hope that we will see our presence continue in Sacramento," added Brian Cheu, Lobby Board member and immediate past Co-Chair.  "LIFE Lobby has served our community extraordinarily well.  The work of LIFE's staff and House of Delegates resulted in a legacy of landmark legislation in both civil rights and healthcare, from the creation of the AIDS budget to civil rights protections for LGBT employees.  That work must continue."

LIFE was California's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and HIV/AIDS Lobby.  Founded in 1986, LIFE has an unparalleled track record in the public policy arena, time and again proving itself the single most effective gay and lesbian statewide lobby on LBGT and HIV issues anywhere in the nation. 

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